A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1971 (DOST Vol. IV).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1456, 1616-1682
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Mental(l, -ale, a. [Late ME. (c 1425) and e.m.E., F. mental, late L. mentālis.] Of the mind; in the mind. Mental (message), a memorised. not a written, one. — 1456 Hay II. 125/22.
Fra all vexacioun corporale and mentale c 1616 Misc. Spald. C. II. lix.
He hes made and subscrivit truely and with ane honest heart butt any equivocatione, mentall reservatione or subterfuge qwhatsoever 1666-74 Fraser Polichron. 279.
A gentleman with letters and a mentall message arrived at Lovat1681 Rothesay B. Rec. 387.1682 Lauder's Observes App. iv. 308.
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"Mental adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 14 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/mentall>
